Summary:
Petitioner and Respondent move for summary judgment on
stipulated facts on three issues: (1) At the time Respondent
terminated Petitioner's PTD benefits, was Petitioner
receiving benefits "from a system that is an alternative
to social security retirement" within the meaning of
§ 39-71-710(1), MCA? (2) If Petitioner was receiving
benefits "from a system that is an alternative to social
security retirement, " is State Fund's termination
of Ferrel's PTD benefits barred by the equitable
defense(s) of estoppel and/or laches? (3) If State Fund's
termination of Ferrel's PTD benefits is not barred by
estoppel and/or laches, is § 39-71-710(1), MCA,
constitutional?

Held:
Because Petitioner's receipt of retirement benefits from
the Montana Highway Patrol Officers' Retirement System
does not preclude her from receiving them from Social
Security when she is age-eligible, and she is not collecting
retirement benefits from the Montana Highway Patrol
Officers' Retirement System instead of collecting them
from Social Security, Petitioner was not receiving benefits
"from a system that is an alternative to social security
retirement" within the meaning of § 39-71-710(1),
MCA. Thus, Respondent incorrectly determined that Petitioner
was "retired, " and is liable for her PTD benefits
from the time it terminated those benefits.

¶
1 Petitioner Silkitwa "Scout" Ferrel and Respondent
Montana State Fund (State Fund) submit this matter on
stipulated facts and cross-motions for summary judgment. This
Court restates the following facts from the parties'
Statement of Stipulated Facts.

Stipulated
Facts

¶
2 Ferrel was sworn into the Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) on
January 13, 1992.

¶
3 While working with the MHP on January 22, 2000, Ferrel was
involved in a physical altercation at the end of a high-speed
pursuit. She was seriously injured while making the arrest.

¶
4 After her efforts to recover failed, Ferrel was physically
incapable of returning to work and retired from the MHP on
December 27, 2002. She sought disability retirement benefits
from the Montana Highway Patrol Officers' Retirement
System (HPORS), which were granted to her on or about January
24, 2003.[1]

¶
5 State Fund paid Ferrel temporary total disability benefits
from August 12, 2003, through August 25, 2003, and again from
August 29, 2005, through March 10, 2007, until it declared
Ferrel permanently totally disabled on or about March 11,
2007. At that point, State Fund began paying Ferrel permanent
total disability (PTD) benefits without any offset.

¶
6 HPORS converted Ferrel's disability retirement benefits
to regular retirement benefits when she turned 50 on March 3,
2003. Ferrel's monthly benefit amount did not change as a
result of the conversion.

¶
7 State Fund determined that Ferrel would be
"retired" when she started receiving HPORS
retirement benefits, which it considered "an alternative
to social security retirement" benefits. State Fund
notified Ferrel on February 4, 2011, that when she turned 60
and HPORS converted her benefits from disability retirement
to regular retirement, State Fund would terminate her
workers' compensation benefits. The letter did not
recognize that HPORS had already converted the benefits in
2003.

¶
8 After sending a 14-day termination letter, State Fund
terminated Ferrel's PTD benefits on February 28, 2013.
State Fund acknowledged that Ferrel's disability benefits
had been converted to retirement benefits at some earlier
time, and that PTD benefits should not have been paid from
the time that Ferrel first received retirement benefits.
However, it stated that it would not retroactively seek
repayment of PTD benefits paid from her date of conversion to
retirement benefits.

¶
9 Prior to her work for the MHP, Ferrel worked for the U.S.
Forest Service. During that time, she paid into the Social
Security retirement system and accumulated sufficient credits
to entitle her to future Social Security retirement benefits.

¶
10 Members of HPORS do not pay into the Social Security
retirement system while they are employed with the MHP. And,
during the time Ferrel worked as an MHP Officer, she did not
concurrently work in another job in which she paid into the
Social Security retirement system.

¶
11 When Ferrel turns 66, she will be eligible to collect her
full Social Security retirement benefits. According to her
last correspondence from the Social Security Administration,
Ferrel expects she will earn $477 per month when she reaches
full retirement age.

Law
and Analysis

¶
12 This case is governed by the 1999 version of the Montana
Workers' Compensation Act (WCA) since that was the law in
effect at the time of Ferrel's industrial
accident.[2]

¶
13 This Court grants summary judgment when the moving party
demonstrates an absence of a genuine issue of material fact
and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law.[3] The material
facts necessary for disposition of this case are undisputed.
Accordingly, this case is susceptible to summary disposition.

¶
14 The parties present three issues: (1) At the time State
Fund terminated her PTD benefits, was Ferrel receiving
benefits "from a system that is an alternative to social
security retirement" within the meaning of §
39-71-710(1), MCA? (2) If Ferrel was receiving benefits
"from a system that is an alternative to social security
retirement, " is State Fund's termination of her PTD
benefits barred by the equitable defense(s) of estoppel
and/or laches? (3) If State Fund's termination of
Ferrel's PTD benefits is not barred by estoppel and/or
laches, is ...

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